Autoblog

Roger Penske's Porsche RS Spyders will have three-driver lineups for March's ALMS kickoff, the 12 Hours of Sebring. Car #7's regular duo of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will be joined by a very familiar name from the Penske stable: Helio Castroneves. The IndyCar driver (and two-time Indy 500 champ) will undoubtedly do his best to snag a season-opening win for the #7 car. If that happens, will "Spider-Man" be able to coax Bernhard and Dumas into a little post-race fence-climbing?

Follow the jump for Porsche's press release detailing what their factory drivers will be up to in 2007.

[Source: Porsche]

Click for a gallery of 5 additional high-res photos

The 2007 ALMS season is rapidly approaching (the kickoff at Sebring takes place March 17), and new cars are starting to arrive at their homes. In the case of the first customer-ordered '07 Porsche RS Spyder, home is Poughkeepsie, NY, where Dyson Racing is headquartered.

The car depicted above and in the attached gallery will be joined by its stablemate sometime in February, and the pair will take on the competition in the reinvigorated LMP2 class. P2 will also see three teams running Acura's new prototype racer, as well as Roger Penske's factory-backed Spyders in their DHL livery (one of which is visible in the transporter shown above as well -- check the gallery to see it).

For more info on the delivery of Dyson's new ride, check out Porsche's press release after the jump.

Related Posts:

• Dyson Racing jumps to LMP2, will race Porsche RS Spyders
• Porsche unveils the 2007 RS Spyder | Gallery
  

[Source: Porsche]

Dyson Racing is moving to the LMP2 class for 2007's American Le Mans Series season, and they'll do so in style as they become the first customer team to run Porsche's RS Spyder racing prototype. You'll recall that Porsche's official development partner, Penske Racing, ran a pair of the DHL-liveried Spyders for the 2006 season.

The cars Rob Dyson's team will run are the new 2007 models, which are more aerodynamic (and dare we say better looking) than last year's 1st gen cars. They will be identical to the cars Penske runs, and they are sure to add even more juice to a very energized LMP2 class that's also welcoming Acura into the fold next year. In fact, LMP2 appears to be the class to watch, as Dyson's departure from the LMP1 class leaves reigning champion Audi Sport and Autocon Motorsport alone to duke it out for the P1 crown. (Danbury, CT-based Highcroft racing left P1 as well and is one of the teams that will field the new Acura racer.)

When you consider that the R10 TDIs went undefeated in P1 last season, it doesn't look like that division will be a source of much drama. Most people will wait for the utter steel cage match that will be Audi vs. Peugeot in a diesel-fueled France vs. Germany duel at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It should be great fun to watch Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in the #20 car and Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace in the #16 car as they do battle in in what has become a substantial LMP2 team roster. The 12 Hours of Sebring can't arrive soon enough.

(Press releases, #20 car livery after the jump)

[Sources: Dyson Racing, American Le Mans Series, Porsche]

Click to enlarge

The 2006 ALMS season will wind down next weekend at Laguna Seca, and teams are already looking toward next year's effort. To that end, Penske Racing and Porsche have made the official announcement that they will once again partner for the 2007 ALMS season. As was the case this year, Penske will field two cars and contest only the ALMS races. Other events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, are out. Penske has already locked up the 2006 LMP2 team championship, while Porsche has clinched both manufacturer's titles (chassis and engine). Penske/Porsche drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr sit 1-2 in the LMP2 driver's championship standings heading into the final race.

Earlier this month, Porsche unveiled the 2007 RS Spyder, which is more aerodynamic, more powerful, and easier to maintain than the 2006 car. This week, the automaker showed it off in the yellow and red DHL livery that the Penske cars will once again sport next season.

ALMS '07 should be enormously entertaining, as the LMP2 class will see Acura join the fray, creating an instant rivalry with Porsche. Add in the independents like Intersport and you've got the makings for some compelling drama on the track. One could make a strong case that LMP2, and not the Audi-dominated LMP1, is going to be the class to watch.

Starting next year, the RS Spyder will be available to privateer efforts as well, though it remains to be seen if any other than the Penske duo will contest ALMS. It will be interesting to see if someone decides to independently run one of the Spyders at Le Mans.

So, even though the 2006 American Le Mans Series is wrapping up, there's no shortage of things to talk about. After the jump, we have a set of galleries that'll let you compare the 2006 and 2007 cars, as well as a selection of photos of the Penske Spyders contesting their inaugural ALMS season.

(Gallery, press release after the jump)

[Sources: Porsche, ALMS]

Click for a high-res gallery of the '07 RS Spyder

Porsche has unveiled the RS Spyder for the 2007 sports car racing season, and, as you might imagine, they've made some improvements. Customer teams will finally be able to take delivery of the LMP2-class racer, which has been raced exclusively by Team Penske in the American Le Mans Series this season. The Penske Spyders have enjoyed success, and on Saturday they locked up the ALMS LMP2 team and manufacturer's championships with a a 1-2 finish in LMP2 (5-6 overall) at Petit Le Mans.

From what Porsche is saying, the 2007 machine is going to be even better, and we're already looking forward to the Porsche vs. Acura LMP2 matchups next season. The new Spyder gets chassis improvements, tweaked aerodynamics, an easier-to-maintain body, and better cooling. With its mandatory air restrictors in place, the RS Spyder's 3.4L V8 churns out 504 horsepower at 10,300 rpm. That's a 23-horse increase over Penske's 2006 rides, and it should be more than enough to get the 1,709-lb car around the various sports car circuits as quickly as possible.

The ALMS season still has a race to go, and we find ourselves counting down to Sebring...

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Porsche AG]

Logistics building at the Porsche Motorsport Centre

Porsche Motorsports has a new home in Weissach. Following a year of construction, the Porsche Motorsports Centre occupies over 107,000 square feet in 4 connected buildings that will house workshops, race car production, a truck terminal, a logistics center, and of course, the motorsport administrative offices.

This complex is double the size of the old Motorsports facility, and even though it's mostly going to support Porsche's factory and privateer race efforts, drivers of certain road cars will also find themselves unwitting members of the Porsche Motorsports family. The Centre will also supply spare parts for the 911 GT3 and GT3 RS street cars, illustrating just how closely connected those vehicles are to the company's legendary race program.

(Additional photo and more info after the jump)

[Source: Porsche]

A successful debut for the Audi R10 in the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City was threatened yesterday as the No. 6 Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class driven by Lucas Luhr pressured the No. 1 Audi R10 in the LMP1 class driven by Emanuele Pirro all the way to the end. Mad props must be given to Luhr for such excellent driving, especially in the high altitude, high temperature environment where his naturally aspirated motor was down some 60 horsepower, according to Porsche.

Both R10 diesel racers fielded by Audi had issues throughout the race. The No. 2 car led for much of the race but suffered a slow puncture in its rear left tire that dropped it back to a fourth place overall finish. The winning No. 1 car went off track early on and was forced to charge back through the field from 6th position.

Finally, a pair of Aston Martin DBR9 racers finished 1-2 in the GT1 class, ahead of the 3-4 finishing Corvette C6.Rs. It was the first time since October 2003 a Corvette hadn't finished first or second, the second consecutive win for Aston Martin, and the first 1-2 finish for Aston since the marque entered ALMS at Sebring last year. Along with the high altitude, the Corvette team blamed series-mandated handicaps that gave them 1-mm smaller intake air restrictors, 10-liter smaller fuel tanks, and 199 more pounds than their British rivals for the loss.

[More pics of Audi and Porsche at Miller Motorsports Park after the jump)

[Source: Audi, Porsche, GM, American Le Mans Series]